Policy-based media syndication and monetization

Abstract

Hosted content received from media hosts is used to generate a set of fingerprints representing the hosted content. The fingerprints representing the hosted content are compared to a set of fingerprints representing reference content submitted by content owners to generate one or more match metrics. Based on the match metrics, the media host may provide indication that they accept policy terms specified by the content owners, including revenue sharing terms. If the media host accepts the revenue sharing terms, the media host may provide advertising content to viewers in association with the hosted content matching the reference content. Funds received from providing advertising content are distributed to the media host and the content owner according to the revenue sharing terms.

1 . A computer-implemented method for sharing revenue for the online distribution of hosted content and advertising content, the method executed by one or more computer systems and comprising:
 receiving via a communications network an item of hosted content from media host;   generating a match metric that measures a match between the item of hosted content and an item of reference content provided by a content owner;   transmitting via the communications network advertising content to the media host responsive to the match metric between the item of hosted content and the item of reference content, the advertising content to be displayed for display on a display device in association with the hosted content, the providing of the advertising content resulting in the media host receiving funds; and   distributing a first portion of the funds to the media host and a second portion of the funds to the content owner responsive to the media host providing the advertising content for display on a display device in association with the item of reference content.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a match metric comprises:
 generating a value that indicates a duration of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 transmitting advertising content to the media host responsive to determining that the value that indicates a duration of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content exceeds a defined value.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a match metric comprises:
 generating a value that indicates a confidence of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising
 transmitting advertising content to the media host responsive to determining that the value that indicates a confidence of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content exceeds a defined value.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a match metric comprises:
 generating a value that indicates an offset of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 transmitting advertising content to the media host responsive to determining that the value that indicates an offset of the match between the item of hosted content and the item of reference content exceeds a defined value.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a match metric comprises:
 identifying the match responsive to comparing a digital fingerprint of the hosted content against a digital fingerprint of the reference content.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving the reference content from a content owner;   generating the fingerprint of the reference content; and   storing the fingerprint of the reference content.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the media host is a publisher. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the media host is a library. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the item of hosted content is received from a hosting site on which the hosted content is hosted for viewing. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content includes audio content. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content includes video content. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content includes audio and video content. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content includes a still image. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content is user-generated content. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content is legacy content. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hosted content is library content. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a policy agreement from the media host responsive to the value that indicates the match between the item of hosted content and the item of reference content. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the policy agreement specifies that the media host agrees to provide activity information associated with the item of hosted content. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the activity information includes a number of times the media host provides the hosted content to viewers. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the activity information includes a number of times the media host provides advertising content in association with the hosted content to viewers. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the activity information includes demographic information associated with the viewers. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the activity information includes information indicating other hosted content the media host provides the content for display. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the policy agreement specifies that the media host is required to provide the hosted content to the viewers under a specified set of restrictions. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the specified set of restrictions includes at least a first restriction based on one of: geographic location of viewers and age of viewers. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the policy agreement specifies that the media host is required to share funds generated from providing the hosted content to viewers with the content owner. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the policy agreement specifies a percentage of funds generated from displaying advertising content in association with the hosted content that the media host is required to provide to the content owner. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a policy agreement from the media host; and   storing the policy agreement.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a bid describing an advertiser's request to display an advertisement in association with an item of hosted content, the bid specifying an amount of funds the advertiser agrees to provide in exchange for the display of the advertisement.   
     
     
         32 . A method for sharing revenue associated with providing digital content, the method comprising:
 identifying an item of user-generated content from a third party website, responsive to searching a network;   generating a match metric that measures a match between the item of user-generated content and an item of reference content;   transmitting to the third-party website advertising content to provide in conjunction with the user-generated content, the providing of the advertising content resulting in the third party website receiving revenue, the funds based at least in part on the match metric; and   distributing a first portion of the funds to the provider and a second portion of the funds to the third party website.   
     
     
         33 . A computer system for sharing revenue for the online distribution of hosted content and advertising content, the computer system comprising one or more computers, each computer having a memory and a processor, and storing in the system:
 an upload server executable to receive via a communications network an item of hosted content from media host;   a fingerprinting engine executable to generate a match metric that measures a match between the item of hosted content and an item of reference content provided by a content owner; and   an advertising engine executable to transmit via a communications network advertising content to the media host responsive to the match metric, the advertising content to be provided for display on a display device in association with the hosted content, the providing of the advertising content resulting in the media host receiving funds and distribute a first portion of the funds to the media host and a second portion of the funds to the content owner responsive to the media host providing the advertising content for display on a display device in association with the item of reference content.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the fingerprinting engine is executable to:
 generate a value that indicates a duration of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content.   
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 34 , wherein the advertising engine is executable to:
 transmit advertising content to the media host responsive to determining that the value that indicates a duration of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content exceeds a defined value.   
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the fingerprinting engine is executable to:
 generate a value that indicates a confidence of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein the advertising engine is executable to:
 transmit advertising content to the media host responsive to determining that the value that indicates a confidence of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content exceeds a defined value.   
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the fingerprinting engine is executable to:
 generate a value that indicates an offset of the match between the item of user-generated content and the item of reference content.   
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the advertising engine is executable to:
 transmit advertising content to the media host responsive to determining that the value that indicates an offset of the match between the item of hosted content and the item of reference content exceeds a defined value.   
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the fingerprinting engine is executable to:
 identify the match responsive to comparing a digital fingerprint of the hosted content against a digital fingerprint of the reference content.   
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 40 , wherein the fingerprinting engine is further adapted to:
 receive the reference content from a content owner;   generate the fingerprint of the reference content; and   store the fingerprint of the reference content.   
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the media host is a publisher. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the media host is a library. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the item of hosted content is received from a hosting site on which the hosted content is hosted for viewing. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content includes audio content. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content includes video content. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content includes audio and video content. 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content includes a still image. 
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content is user-generated content. 
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content is legacy content. 
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the hosted content is library content. 
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 33 , further comprising a policy engine executable to receive a policy agreement from the media host responsive to the value that indicates the match between the item of hosted content and the item of reference content. 
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 52 , wherein the policy agreement specifies that the media host agrees to provide activity information associated with the item of hosted content. 
     
     
         54 . The system of  claim 53 , wherein the activity information includes a number of times the media host provides the hosted content for display. 
     
     
         55 . The system of  claim 54 , wherein the activity information includes a number of times the media host provides advertising content in association with the hosted content to viewers. 
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 53 , wherein the activity information includes demographic information associated with the viewers. 
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 53 , wherein the activity information includes information indicating other hosted content the media host provides to the viewers. 
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 52 , wherein the policy agreement specifies that the media host is required to provide the hosted content to the viewers under a specified set of restrictions. 
     
     
         59 . The system of  claim 58 , wherein the specified set of restrictions includes at least a first restriction based on one of: geographic location of viewers and age of viewers. 
     
     
         60 . The system of  claim 52 , wherein the policy agreement specifies that the media host is required to share funds generated from providing the hosted content to viewers with the content owner. 
     
     
         61 . The system of  claim 52 , wherein the policy agreement specifies a percentage of funds generated from displaying advertising content in association with the hosted content that the media host is required to provide to the content owner. 
     
     
         62 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the fingerprinting engine is further executable to:
 receive a policy agreement from the media host; and   store the policy agreement.   
     
     
         63 . A computer system for sharing revenue for the online distribution of hosted content and advertising content, the computer system comprising one or more computers, each computer having a memory and a processor, and storing in the system:
 a crawling engine executable by the processor to identify an item of user-generated content from a third party website, responsive to searching a network;   a fingerprinting engine executable by the processor to generate a value that represents a match between the item of user-generated content and an item of reference content; and   an advertising engine executable by the processor to transmit to the third-party website advertising content to provide in conjunction with the user-generated content, the providing of the advertising content resulting in the third party website receiving funds, the funds based at least in part on the value that represents the match and distribute a first portion of the funds to the provider and a second portion of the funds to the third party website.